1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to article dispensing or vending machines and is more particularly directed to an improved dispensing operating mechanism for such machines.
The types of vending machines to which the present invention is directed, while of general application, are particularly well suited for use in the delivery of successive articles to the discharge portion of the machine upon operation of a coin-activated control mechanism. The type of vending machine to which the present invention is particularly suited customarily includes a plurality of helical dispensing coils disposed within the housing of the machine, with the articles to be vended being located between adjacent convolutions of the coil such that, upon rotation of a particular coil in response to actuation of the operating control mechanism, one of the articles is discharged toward the delivery opening where it is available to the purchaser.
2. Prior Art
The foregoing types of vending machines are well known in the prior art. Examples are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,354,613, 4,023,704, 3,355,064, 3,344,953 and 3,178,055. Generally, in these machines a number of helical springs or coils are disposed side-by-side in a row, with articles to be dispensed being positioned between adjacent turns of the spring such that rotation of a specific spring dispenses the selected article to the purchaser. Additional rows of springs may be superposed within the machine to increase the number and variety of articles which may be dispensed.
Each of the helical springs is provided with an actuator, generally a motor, under the control of a coin-operated system which, upon actuation, rotates the spring to advance the foremost article into a delivery chute. With a separate actuator motor provided for each spring, the dispensing operating mechanism and the control system therefor becomes complex, which increases the cost of the vending machine and adversely affects the reliability of its operation.
Attempts have been made to reduce the complexity of the dispensing operating system, and examples are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,211, issued to Flubacker and U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,281, issued to Schalaf. In the Flubacker patent, individual actuators for each row of items to be dispensed are replaced by a single actuator supported on a rail carriage to permit positioning of the actuator at the desired location for dispensing of a single item. Instead of helical coils, Flubacker utilizes a plurality of latches to support the individual items, with each latch being released by the selectively-positionable movable actuator.
In the Schalaf patent, the indivdual motor for each coil has been replaced with a solenoid-engageable, rotation-inducing mechanism, with all of the mechanisms being connected by a common chain driven by a single motor. Operation of the control system energizes the solenoid coupled to the selected coil to connect the rotation-inducing device to the coil which is then rotated by the driven chain.
The patent to Giepen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,602, illustrates another attempt to reduce the number of operating devices in a vending machine capable of dispensing a large number of items. Giepen provides a plurality of bins connected to a conveyor system driven by a single motor, each bin having several stories or tiers for receiving the items to be dispensed. The control system positions the selected bin adjacent to an elevator unit, at which position activation of an ejector unit, which may be driven by a single motor or a plurality of vertically-positioned motors, ejects the selected item into an elevator mechanism, and operation of the elevator drive motor lifts the selected item upwardly to be dumped into a delivery chute.
The foregoing attempts to reduce the number of individual actuators have not been entirely successful, and the resulting apparatuses remain complex devices.
Although not related directly to vending machines, the article handling apparatuses used in the warehousing of a large number of articles stored in multiple, tiered rows function to position an article in a specified location. In the article handling system described in the patent to Ziemann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,785, a crane-like handling device is moved between storage rows by a drive motor which positions the device at the desired column of storage. A second motor moves the device vertically to place the crane opposite the desired tier of storage, and a third motor operates the crane to place or to remove the item from the storage location. A computer controls the operation of the apparatus.
Although X-Y coordinate type article handling apparatuses have been used in warehousing, such as described in the Ziemann patent, these apparatuses are large-scale devices capable of handling heavy, bulky items, and do not lend themselves to an application in a vending machine. The Applicant is not aware of a dispensing operating system having a minimum number of actuators capable of movement in an X-Y coordinate fashion which is controllably movable vertically to a desired row of vended items, horizontally along the selected row to the desired dispensing coil and subsequently operable to rotate the dispensing coil to dispense the selected item.